Rollers

ABSTRACT

A roller having a yieldable body portion with annular recesses in the ends thereof.

United States Patent Hyosaka 1 Sept. 25, 1973 ROLLERS [75] Inventor: Alfred M. Hyosaka, Morton Grove, [56] References Cited 11]. UNITED STATES PATENTS 73 Assignee: s o p Business Machines 2,211,456 8/1940 Caldwell v 29/113 R Corporation, Chicago Hudson at al X [22] Filed: Oct 21 1971 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONSv 2,010,498 /1970 Gennany 100/176 [21] Appl. No.: 190,794

. Primary ExaminerLeon G. Machlin [52] US. Cl 68/248, 29/129, 34/70, A n y- & oKeeffe 101/348 [51] Int. Cl. D06f 45/00 57 ABSTRACT Fleld of Search 129.5, A roller a g a portion annular recesses in the ends thereof.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIED 3.760.616-

INVENTOR. ALFRED M. HYOSAKA ROLLERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to rollers, and, more particularly, to rollers which are particularly well adapted for use as wringer rollers, squeegee rollers, inking rollers, and the like.

It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a novel roller.

Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel roller of the type embodying a resilient body member, with the body member constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner.

Yet another object of the present invention is to enable a novel roller, embodying a resilient body member mounted on an elongated shaft, to be constructed in a novel and expeditious manner.

Rollers, which embody resilient body members, have been heretofore known in the art. One of the problems with respect to such rollers which has long been burdensome to those skilled in the art has been that such rollers commonly have been of such construction that when they are subjected to moisture, such as, for example when they are used as wringer rollers or squeegee rollers to remove moisture from articles, such as the wringer rollers in photocopy machines, and the like, or when they are used to apply liquid to articles, such as, for example, when used as inking rollers, and the like, the liquid would commonly cause the ends of the rollers to swell, causing the intended article-engaging portion of the rollers to be deformed so that they no longer were effective to properly operatively engage such articles. This has been particularly true in connection with rollers heretofore known in the art wherein the rollers have embodied resilient body members molded or otherwise suitably secured to elongated shafts, liquid commonly seeping or otherwise passing inwardly between the shafts and the outer end portions of the body members secured thereto. This problem has previously been discussed in the application for U. S. letters Pat. of Abe Samuels, Ser. No. 89,642, filed Nov. 16, 1970, and which application discloses a roller construction, which has been highly practical and which has proven to be of merit in helping to alleviate the aforementioned problem. It is an important object of the present invention to further alleviate the aforementioned problem.

It is a further object of the present invention to afford a novel roller wherein the parts thereof are so constituted and arranged that if such swelling of the end portions should occur, the roller remains effective to satisfactorily operatively engage such articles.

In machines wherein rollers are applied, under pressure, to an article disposed in the machine, such as, for example, copy paper in photocopy machines or printing paper in printing machines, or the like, wherein the rollers are intended to engage such articles throughout the length of the rollers, when the ends of the rollers are caused to swell or expand this has heretofore commonly caused the rollers to lose contact with the article to be engaged between the swollen ends of the rollers, the swollen end portions of the rollers holding the central portions thereof out of effective engagement with such articles. It is an important object of the present invention to enable such unsatisfactory operation to be avoided in a novel and expeditious manner.

Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel roller, the end portions of which are constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner effec-, tive to enable the ends of the roller to flex or yield in such a manner that even if they have become swollen or expanded by action of liquid thereon, they will compress during operation of the rollers in such a manner as to enable effective contact to be maintained with such an article along the entire length of the roller.

Yet another object of the present invention is to afford a novel roller which is effective to operate in the aforementioned manner in conjunction with another roller or with other pressure-applying members, such as, for example, a press bed or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel roller having annular recesses constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner in the end portions thereof.

Yet another object of the present invention is to enable a novel'roller to be afforded, which embodies a novel body member mounted on an elongated shaft, which extends longitudinally therethrough.

A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel roller which is practical and efficient in operation and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles.

7 Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of two rollers of a type heretofore known in the art, to illustrate the problem which has commonly heretofore arisen;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through a roller embodying the principles of the present invention to illustrate the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing, in section, a roller of the type shown in FIG. 2, and, in side elevation, a roller of the type shown in FIG; 1, with the rollers disposed in operative engagement with each other; and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of two rollers of the type shown in FIG. 2, with the rollers disposed in operative engagement with each other.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Shown Herein A roller 1, embodying the principles of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings to illustrate the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The roller 1 embodies, in general, an elongated, cylindrical-shaped body member 2 mounted on an elongated shaft 3, which extends longitudinally through the body member 2. The shaft 3 may be made of any suitable material, such as, for example, steel, and is longer than the body member 2, FIG. 2.

The body member 2 may be made of any suitable material such as, for example, rubber, but preferably, is made from a suitable, yieldable, resilient, syntheticrubber, such as, for example, neoprene, or the copolymer of butadiene and acrylonitrile, commonly known as Buna N. It is mounted on the shaft 3 in inwardly spaced relation to the outer ends thereof and may be secured thereto by any suitable means for rotation therewith, but I prefer to form the body member 2, and secure it to the shaft 3 by molding it directly to the shaft 3.

The body member 2 includes an elongated main body portion 4, which is cylindrical in shape, and two hubs and 6, which project outwardly from respective ends 7 and 8 of the body portion 4 in axial alignment with the latter. The hubs 5 and 6 also are cylindrical in shape, and, as in the aforementioned Samuels application for US. letters Pat., Ser. No. 89,642, the outside diameter of the hubs 5 and 6 is less than the outside diameter of the main body portion 4 and, preferably, is less than three-fourths of the outside diameter of the body portion 4.

The hubs 5 and 6 of the body member 2 shown herein, are shown projecting outwardly from the body portion 4. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this is merely by way of illustration of the presently preferred embodiment of the pres- Y ent invention, and not by way of limitation, and rollers may be afforded wherein the hub portons 5 and 6 do not project outwardly from the body portion 4 without departing from the purview of the broader aspects of the present invention.

In the roller 1, as in the roller shown in the aforementioned Samuels application, Ser. No. 89,642, the body member 2 is mounted on the shaft 3 with a tight fit and is secured thereto for rotation therewith. The body member 2 may be secured to the shaft 3 by any suitable means such as, for example, by means of a suitable adhesive which, preferably also acts as a sealant between the interior of the body member 2 and the exterior of the shaft 3 for the purpose of preventing liquid from penetrating into the area between the body member 2 and the shaft 3. However, I prefer to secure the body member 2 to the shaft 3 in a tightly fitting sealing engagement therewith by molding the body member-2 directly onto the shaft 3.

Unlike the roller shown in the aforementioned Samuels application, Ser. No. 89,642, the body portion 4 of the body member 2 has two annular recesses 9 and 10 formed in the end portions thereof adjacent the ends 7 and 8, respectively, the recesses 9 and 10 extending around the hubs 5 and 6 in inwardly spaced relation to the outer peripheral surface 11 of the body portion 2. The recesses 9 and 10 are disposed in coaxial relation to the hubs 5 and 6, respectively, and the latter define the inner peripheries of the recesses 9 and 10, respectively.

With a roller constructed in the manner of the roller 1, shown in FIG. 2, when liquid is present on the outer periphery of the body member 2, any such liquid which passes down around the ends 7 and 8 of the body portion 4 passes on to the hubs 5 and 6, respectively, and then on to the shaft 3. This, as is true with respect to the roller shown in the aforementioned Samuels application, Ser. No. 89,642, positions any such liquid on the shaft 3 a substantial distance from the body portion 4 of the body member 2, and it has been found to be highly effective to prevent seepage or other passage of liquid between the shaft 3 and the body member 2 into position wherein the liquid will cause the body portion 4 of the body member 2 to swell.

However, in the presently preferred form of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the roller 1 not only embodies the advantages of the roller shown in the aforementioned Samuels application, Ser. No. 89,642, but embodies additional advantages. Thus, for example, it will be seen that the hubs 5 and 6 not only project outwardly from the body portion 4, but are separated from the outer peripheral surface 11 of the body portion 4, at the outermost end portions of the latter, by the recesses 9 and 10,.so that swelling of the hub portions 5 and 6, for an additional distance into the body portion 4 will not cause outward expansion or swelling of the outer periphery of the body portion 4, the hubs 5 and 6 merely swelling within the recesses 9 and 10.

However, the roller 1 shown in FIG. 2 hereof has the additional advantage that, if liquid does enter the end portions of the body member 2 a sufficient distance to cause swelling of the outer end portions of the body portion 4 thereof, such as, for example, as shown in the lower side of the roller 1, as viewed in FIG. 3, the end portions of the body portion 4 are sufficiently yieldable that they may be readily deformed or compressed into position wherein effective contact may be maintained along the entire length of the body portion 4 with an article to be engaged thereby.

To this end, the recesses 9 and. 10 preferably extend axially into the body portion 4 a distance equal to the length of the swollen body portion desired to be protected against, and the recesses 9 and 10 preferably have a width of 25 to 50 percent more than the increase in radius of the body portion 4 desired to be protected against.

' One of the problems which has heretofore bothered the'art .with respect to rollers subjected to liquid, such as, the'aforementioned wringer rollers, squeegee rollers, inking rollers, and the like, has been that when liquid did enter the resilient body members of such rollers and cause the end portions to swell, the central portions of the rollers were commonly thereafter held out of engagement with the article to be engaged, by the engagement of the swollen end portions of the rollers with the article to be engaged. This is illustrated by the rollers 12 and 13 shown in FIG. 1, which it will be understood are illustrative of rollers heretofore known in the art, and which for the purpoes of the present discussion may be considered to embody the construction of the roller 1, shown in FIG. 2, except that they do not embody any annular recesses, such as the recesses 9 and 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the swollen end portions 14 and 15 of the roller 12 engage the swollen end portions 16 and 17 of the roller 13, respectively, to thereby hold the central portions 18 and 19 of the rollers 12 and 13 in spaced relation to each other. With the central portions 18 and 19 of the rollers 12 and 13 thus held spaced from each other, the rollers 12 and 13 are ineffective to properly engage an article, such as a sheet of copy paper, passing therebetween.

While the problems arising in connection with prior art rollers is illustrated in FIG. 1 by the use of two rollers, such problems are not limited to units embodying two rollers, but, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, also are present in other units, such as, for example, units embodying a roller intended to press against other pressure members, such as flat plates, and the like, the swollen ends of such rollers holding the central portions thereof out of engagement with the plates.

When such rollers are embodied in a machine, such as a photocopy machine or a printing machine, in position wherein it is intended that an article, such as a sheet of paper, passing through the machine is to pass between the rollers, or between such a roller and another pressure member such as a flat plate, or the like,

and be squeezed thereby, the rollers are caused to be ineffective to apply proper pressure on such a paper, the engagement of the end portions of the rollers holding the central portion thereof, such as, for example, the portions 18 and 19 of the rollers 12 and 13, respectively, FIG. 1, out of pressure-applying engagement with such an article. With pressure-applying rollers constructed in the manner of the roller 1 shown herein, this problem is effectively overcome, as will be discussed in greater detail presently.

Thus, for example, in a machine embodying a single roller 1, which is to apply pressure against another pressure member, such as a roller 20, FIG. 3, and it is intended that the roller I maintain effective pressureapplying contact with the roller 20 throughout the full length of the body portion 4, this may be accomplished even though the end portions of the roller 1 have become swollen and irrespective of whether or not the other member, such as the roller 20, has become similarly deformed. Thus, it will be seen that the roller 20 is shown in the drawings with its one end 21 deformed in such a manner, and with its other end 22 not deformed. As may be seen at the lower edge of the roller 1, as viewed in FIG. 3, the end portions 23 and 24 of the body portion 4, surrounding the recesses 9 and 10, respectively, have become swollen. However, contact is maintained between the roller 20 and the roller l throughout the length of the body portion 4, the swollen end portion 21 of the roller 20, which is less yielding than the left end portion 23 of the roller 1, as viewed in FIG. 3, being effective to press the portion 23 in FIG. 3. Thus, it will be remembered that the end 22 of the roller 20 is undeformed, and is effective to compress the swollen end portion 24 of the roller 1 into alignment with the line of engagement 25 of the central portions of the rollers 1 and 2. A flat plate, or the like, not shown, substituted for the roller 20 would be effective to similarly compress the swollen ends 23 and 24 of the roller 1, shown in FIG. 3, into alignment with the line of engagement of the central portion of the roller 1 with the flat plate.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 4, two rollers embodying the construction of the roller 1, shown in FIG. 2, may be. effectively operated in pressure-applying side-byside relation. When the end portions 26 and 27 of the body portions 4 of such rollers 1 become swollen, if both are of the same resiliency, the end portions 26 and 27 thereof will be pressed inwardly, equal distances toward the respective axis into alignment with the line of engagement 28 of the central portions thereof to afford a straight line engagement between the rollers, as illustrated in FIG. 4. However, as will be appreciated by 7 those skilled in the art, if any of the rollers 1 is less yieldable than the other, it will cause the end portions of the other roller to move inwardly a further distance toward the axis thereof, to thereby afford a curved line of engagement between the rollers 1, as illustrated with respect to the end portion 23 of the roller 1 in FIG. 3.

. a novel roller which is practical and efficient in operainwardly toward the longitudinal axis of the roller 1 beyond the line of engagement 25 of the central portions of the rollers 1 and 20, and the undeformed end portion 22 of the roller 20 pressing the adjacent end portion 24 of the roller 1 into alignment with the line of engagement 25 of the central portion of the rollers 1 and 20. The recesses 9 and 10 enable the end portions 23 and 24 of the roller 1 to thus be pressed inwardly with sufficient ease that good contact may be readily maintained between the roller 1 and the pressure-applying member such as the roller 20.

It will be observed that such contact would be maintained between the body portion 4 of the roller 1 and the roller 20 even though the end portions 21 and 22 were both swollen in the manner illustrated for the end portion 21, the end portion 22 in that event, merely depressing the end portion 24 of the body portion 4 to a greater extent, in the same manner as illustrated with respect to the end portion 23 of the roller 1.

Similarly, it will be seen that effective contact between the roller 1 and the pressure-applying member would be maintained even though the adjacent surface of the pressure-applying member remains flat throughout the length of the body portion 4. Actually, this is illustrated by the engagement of the right end 22 of the roller 20 with the right end 24 of the roller 1, as viewed tion, and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.

Thus, while i have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish 'to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A roller comprising a. an elongated body portion of yieldable material,

and having I. an outer peripheral surface, and 2. an elongated shaft extending longitudinally through said body portion,

b. said body portion having an annular recess in each end thereof extending around said elongated shaft in spaced relation to said shaft and to said peripheral surface.

2. A roller comprising a. an elongated body portion of yieldable material and having 1 an outer peripheral surface, and 2 a longitudinal axis,

b. said body portion having an annular recess in each end thereof extending around said longitudinal axis in spaced relation to said axis and to said peripheral surface, and

c. hub portions l. projecting outwardly from said ends of said body portion, and

2. disposed axially of respective ones of said recesses.

3. A roller comprising a. an elongated body portion of yieldable material and having 1 an outer peripheral surface, and 2 a longitudinal axis,

b. said body portion having an annular recess in each end thereof extending around said longitudinal axis in spaced relation to said axis and to said peripheral surface,

c. hub portions disposed at respective ends of said body portion,

d. an elongated shaft extending through and secured to said body portion and said hub portions,

e. and wherein said hub portions 1 are smaller in diameter than said body portion,

and

2 define the inner periphery of respective ones ofv said recesses. 4. A roller as defined in claim 3, and in which a. said hub portions are sealingly secured to the outer peripheral surface of said shaft.

5. A roller as defined in claim 3, and in which a. said body portion is resilient and cylindrical in shape, and

b. said body portion and said hub portions comprise a molded, synthetic-rubber one-piece member.

6. ln a machine of the type wherein articles are fed therethrough, the combination of,

a. a pair of elongated yieldable rollers each having an outer peripheral surface for engaging one side of such an article during passage of the latter through the machine, 1

b. at least one of said rollers having an annular recess in each end thereof,

an elongated shaft extending longitudinally through each of said rollers,

d. a hub portion projecting outwardly from each end of each roller and sealingly secured to the outer peripheral surface of its associated shaft, and

c. said hub portions on said one of said rollers defining the inner periphery of the annular recesses associated therewith.

7. The combination defined in claim 6, wherein said hub portions are smaller in diameter than the diameter of the roller from which they project. 

1. A roller comprising a. an elongated body portion of yieldable material, and having
 1. an outer peripheral surface, and
 2. an elongated shaft extending longitudinally through said body portion, b. said body portion having an annular recess in each end thereof extending around said elongated shaft in spaced relation to said shaft and to said peripheral surface.
 2. an elongated shaft extending longitudinally through said body portion, b. said body portion having an annular recess in each end thereof extending around said elongated shaft in spaced relation to said shaft and to said peripheral surface.
 2. A roller comprising a. an elongated body portion of yieldable material and having 1 an outer peripheral surface, and 2 a longitudinal axis, b. said body portion having an annular recess in each end thereof extending around said longitudinal axis in spaced relation to said axis and to said peripheral surface, and c. hub portions
 2. disposed axially of respective ones of said recesses.
 3. A roller comprising a. an elongated body portion of yieldable material and having 1 an outer peripheral surface, and 2 a longitudinal axis, b. said body portion having an annular recess in each end thereof extending around said longitudinal axis in spaced relation to said axis and to said peripheral surface, c. hub portions disposed at respective ends of said body portion, d. an elongated shaft extending through and secured to said body portion and said hub portions, e. and wherein said hub portions 1 are smaller in diameter than said body portion, and 2 define the inner periphery of respective ones of said recesses.
 4. A roller as defined in claim 3, and in which a. said hub portions are sealingly secured to the outer peripheral surface of said shaft.
 5. A roller as defined in claim 3, and in which a. said body portion is resilient and cylindrical in shape, and b. said body portion and said hub portions comprise a molded, synthetic-rubber one-piece member.
 6. In a machine of the type wherein articles are fed therethrough, the combination of, a. a pair of elongated yieldable rollers each having an outer peripheral surface for engaging one side of such an article during passage of the latter through the machine, b. at least one of said rollers having an annular recess in each end thereof, c. an elongated shaft extending longitudinally through each of said rollers, d. a hub portion projecting outwardly from each end of each roller and sealingly secured to the outer peripheral surface of its associated shaft, and e. said hub portions on said one of said rollers defining the inner periphery of the annular recesses associated therewith.
 7. The combination defined in claim 6, wherein said hub portions are smaller in diameter than the diameter of the roller from which they project. 